Balloon and method of making



Jam 19,1954 w. F- HUCH EI' AL 2,666,600

BALLOON AND METHOD OF MAKING 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 25, 1951 Jan. 19, 1954 w. F. HUCH m 2,666,600

BALLOON AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed June 25, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 19, 1954 w, F, HUCH ETAL BALLOON AND METHOD OF MAKING 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 25, 1951 Patented Jan. 19, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BALLOON AND METHOD OF MAKING William F. Huch, St. Paul, and Raymond I.

Hakomaki, Minneapolis, Minn., assignors to General Mills, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application June 25, 1951, Serial No. 233,282

This invention relates to improvements in balloons and more particularly to small balloonsand their method of manufacture.

In various 'sciencessuch as meterology, balloons are sent aloft, often to extremely high altitudes to determine various phenomena of the at:- mosphere. Balloons are frequently sent aloft to determine movements of air currents and their speed and direction of movement. These balloons may be sent tovarious altitudes as the air currents vary in direction'and speed at difierent altitudes. Balloons are often sent aloft in large numbers, and from the dispersion pattern formed when they land, the flight'of the average balloon the course of wind, it is unnecessary that they.

be of large size. In fact, it is desirable that they be smallin order to be most economicalfrom a standpoint of saving material. The size is partially determined by the amount of gas necessary. to lift the weight of material to the desired height and, therefore, the use of very lightweight material is desirable as it permits the construction of a small balloon. These balloons, which are sent into the stratosphere, may remain aloft fordays and be subjected to all kinds of weather, rain, buffeting by. air turbulence, extreme cold of high altitudes, ozone, and the rays of the sun. It becomes necessary,.therefore, to provide a balloon of material'- which isable to withstand these adverse elements.

When the balloon is released on the ground and ri'sesto high altitudes, the atmospheric pressure decreases, causing the gas to expand. If the balloon is vented to allow escape of gas to 'comp'ensate for the expansion, the gas which is lost no longer contributes lifting qualities. Further, with the heavy bufieting by wind which a small balloon receives and with the difiiculty of keeping a small unweighted balloon in an upright position it is diificult to provide a suitable ventingdevice and a venting or valving device adds to the cost of the balloon. V

Thereis also a demand for a small light-weight balloon which is capable of carrying a load and which can be inexpensively made by mass production methods. A use for this type of balloon is also foundin the studies of air currents.

15 Claimsr (Cl. 244-31) A simple way to check the path ,of flights of weather balloons is to send each one aloft with a message which directs the finder to return information of the place and time of'landing of the balloon. When this information is returned by the balloon finder on a large number of bal- I loons, the wind currents and the dispersion pattern are ascertained.

' It is usually necessary that the message or object carried by the balloon be protected against the elements which will normally attack it in all weather flights. High altitudes require a very durable balloon and normally require a durable container for the pay load.

A balloon meeting the abovequalifications will find demand in a great many other fields. In national defense, for example, there is a demand for inexpensive balloons which can be cheaply made in large numbers for use as targets or for carrying pay loads in the. form of messages, incendiaries, objects which give misleading radar pictures and various other objects.

' An inexpensive balloon capable of carrying a.

protected messageandbeing flown with a known dispersion pattern on prevailing winds could be very useful for effective transmittal of propa-' ganda to the enemy, both civilian and military. The same principles might be used commercially for thedispersion of advertising matter.

An object of the invention is to provide a small balloon which may be sent aloft in great numbers, which'is imperishable in all adverse weather conditions and which is suitable for high altitude weather flights.

"Another object is to make small balloons of economical and light-weight material by a method which is rapid and simple, thereby reducing the cost of manufacture, and which is suitable for mass production of balloons or for the production of single balloons a the demand arises.

Another objectis to provide a small balloon suitable for high altitude atmospheric flights and which obviates the necessity of providing a pressure release means to compensate for the expansion of the lifting gases contained within the balloon.

A further object of the invention is to provide 3 will completely obviate the necessity of providing protective containers for carrying the load and also eliminate the need for supporting lines for attaching the containers to the inflated balloon envelope.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings; in.

which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a length o; tubular-shaped material envelopes are made; i

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the balloon envelope sealing mechanisrri ini I M Fig. 3 is a plan view showing th envelope;

from which the balloon Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a "message ran example of an object which the balloonis suitable for carrying;

f Fig. 5 is a sectionalview of the balloon taken aiong'line 51-5 of ri 3; V

/ Fig. 6. is a sectional ,view of theballoon qr," armi g opening we" bauooirfor serting'the object;

Fi'g. s'is a perspective view of a balloon Show ing the opening iormed in .Fi'gijljf ..,Fig'.f.9' is ia plan mew illustrating the manner of, sealing the opening". M a N Fig. 1 1s apl view r the anoon' showing the} aijher of for ingiheinfiation opening;

Fig. 11 is aperspective viewillustratlng'the in N w p 231' view taken alengiline 1242.01

pFig'." 1 1s afpers'pectiveview showing the sealing or the inflation open ng; Figlll l is a .front'..elev.ati I iri'gldevioeior sealingt auognope'n'r g;

rig

. I P 6r theballoonill trating the sealing o nation op nin I Fig. 20 is a perspe'etrveviewjsrm g dition of aballoon at a higli al it urnfiggasiexe hded. Beferrinfg to Elsi .1"

material zals' n t A I 6f... any suitable type b t a thermoplastic is. pref i' ed. f i a p'ilyhjy enaw h .isarionr tensible materi'ala'nd', for c ofiven'iehee, the

ifi cation will refer .tothe balloon. material as npiyeth iene thermoplastic. Althou h p.91 ethylene j other. .thrr'iiopla stics mem capa bleof beingstretc tastier; tion armreg hy inay bereg rd J itensibleas waisted to xnaterial her. Bolyethylene film, suitable for b es desired, is enie1yl1ght iri can withstand extreme cold; 'iich .a s

enco

teredin highaltitude flights"; yvith'ou becom brittle or without cracking. rtaiso da gee by the heat of the sunrays d has no effect onit 'lhe ;tubular. balloon teria-l is shown in section in Fig, 5. Tl'i e p l ystoek' shown is 'siipplied on rolls '26 (llig.

ethylene eamneta' V1BW illustrating sideedges lfl andilelose'dj by virtueflof, theta mthiwair; r" show red t 2). The flattened tubular material is fed from the roll over a table 28 which has a channel 3! in the upper surface extending crosswise of the length of the balloon material.

The edges of the end of the material are first brought together and sealed by a bead 32 formed at. the end. This. may be done by the apparatus shown or any suitable well known heat sealing devices. The balloon material is then clamped flat on the table a distance back from the sealed head 32, the distance being equal to the"'lerigtli of the balloon which is desired. The clampin g bars 3 press the material flat against t r c of the table 28 on each side 0 elch afnnel A heated sealing and severas a heated Wire 35, is then against the flattened thermoplastic ta pass therethrough, severing an end from the length of thermoplastic stock and simultaneously sealing together the severed edges of the opposed layers of the envelope cut from the end 1n member, su h of the stock. This severing, of course, also seals theseverededgesof the opposed layers of the material coming frorn the roll, thus forming a r bead which willbe the forward end' of the next succeeding, balloon envelope.

:T e'balloon env mpe 3 (Fig! 3), .is' now completely sealed, having the that the materialwa'sjoriginally tubular in form and having the endf edge's sealed 9r weldedflwith the sealing. beads 32' and 44. This balloon en"- velepeis fiat'ahd' contains no air and can be 1 stacked or vfolded for stora'ge and for iuture use. shows a' sectional View taken from the side of ,theballoon, ,sh'o'wingfthe construction of the sealing beads atth'e en'd'si" These beads; if correctly fortified, Willfseal' the r'n'ateri'al with a strength equal'nto' that of the material itself and, being small, add no, appreciable useless Weight to the b llldbil F ill'thelf no .matelial 6X,- tends. beyonqthe bead .orseam' and all avail am sheet in rial is utilized the'j actual ue S ECtl b lilai YleV S in Figs. 5 and 6 ges", ofith'e'v balloon; as being rounded r-pu poses of illustration, while aafl allyvthe balloone ve peisfiat as shown in Fies,..,2 and 3 since it is completely devoid of all air or g s.j

.91s; e;;. vne sw 'dw i t balm escould b'e gtorrn'ed of various" other suitable ma rials, A therlnoplastic material is to be desired, howev r, I primarily because with the d or form ng jtaught y the present inthree operations. maybe formed. by one s] p nameiy, the severing or a balloon from the leng I of stbckof inateria1, ;al1f1d the sealingof the. trailing and): the severed tend n and the sealingof the leading end of the succeeding balloon. These steps are accomplished in one operaticn by merely bringing the hea'te'd sealing wire 36 incontact with the niate'rial. .With the use cr me: materials" thesealin'g of the balloon ends and the. severing ,willlikely haveto be per, formed in two o'r more operations and the sealing .of the balloon ends may have to be accompushed b'yth e'ap'p1ic'ation or a bonding ad hesi-ve,

in size so as to be economicaland, since the ma- 70 an lightin' .Wifglitsflch as a paper 46 con- 75 taming a message, illustrated in Fig. 4. This balloon load-shownas a sheet ofpaperrhavin printing 48 thereon, may be instead a sheet of lightweight metallic foil, or a light-weight scientificinstrumentor other similar object, depending upon the use to which the balloon is to be adapted. It will become apparent that the balloon structure taught by the present invention is capable of carrying a variety of loads but, for purposes of illustration, the description will show and referto the load as a paper containing a message. I a I i If the object to be carried aloft is a message, it will most likely be of paper which must be protectedif it is to be flown, launched and permitted to weather inalltypes of atmospheric conditions. To obviate thenecessity of roviding a specialsealed carrier for the message .and to eliminate the provision ofspecial means to attach the carrier to*the balloon, the, present invention places themessage within the balloon and seals theballoon completely against atmosphere. The balloon, being'of a light-weight material, can in practicaLusage be only partially filled with a lighter-than-air lifting gas, and the unfilled space of the balloon will permit ex-' pansion of the gases as the balloon ascends to high altitudes where the atmospheric pressure becomes less. Thus, by the elimination of useless weight normally present in load carrier supporting lines, etc., a larger amount of balloon material can be lifted with the sameamount of gas. .With, a larger. balloon, no opening need be left in the balloon for relief of expanding gases, as the balloon; can be only partially infiated or partially distended on the ground and the additional balloon volume will allow for expansion of the gas; With the balloon envelope completely sealed the escape of gas is prevented whenthe balloon ascends-to-lower pressures and the gas expands and distends the'b'alloon. With the balloon completely sealed the object within the balloon is completely protected. The advanb r e of this structure becomes apparent where a load must be sent aloft which cannot come in bon tact with the air or cannot be subjected? tothe moisture or gases which the atmosphere contains. The elimination of supporting lines and load carrier willalso permit the use of a smaller balloon. The advantages of saving in cost in simplicity of structure are obvious.

To insert a message into the balloon, a thin sliver 50 is cut from the edge of the balloon, as illustrated in Fig. 7. This may be easily done by cutting ofi a length of the narrow seam from the balloon end. The, length which is cut oil is chosen according to'the'width of the message which is to be inserted. The opening 52,'through which the message is inserted into the balloon, is shown in Fig. 8.

After the message is inserted, as illustratedin Fig. 9, a clamping bar 54 is laid along the edge of the'fiattened material and the opening formed in the. balloon. If the material is of thermoplastic, sealing can be easily accomplished by applying aheated sealing iron to the severed edge, whereby-the adjoining edges are fused together to form a bead The resulting product is now a;complet,e1y sealed balloon envelope, having the message inside. If the balloon load is an object such as a tarnishable metal or moisture damageable material which must be protected against the atmosphere, it is protected by the sealed envelope and may be stored in, this manner for an indefinite length of time.

-The instrument for sealing thermoplastic seams, maybe of any suitabletype which is capable of applying heat thereto. A manual sealer is shown in Fig. 14 having a heated sealing wire 56, supported between the ends of the "supporting bow 58, which is manually carried by a handle 60. Electrical leads 62 supply heating current to the sealing wire. 7 I

When the need arises for sending the balloon aloft withthe message enclosed therein, an inflating opening is first placed in the balloon. This may be accomplished, as shown in Fig. 10, by servering a corner 64 from the balloon to form the opening 66. Into this small opening is inF serted an inflating tube 68,-Fig. 11, supplied with a lighter-than-air' lifting gas from a container 10 through a flexible tubing 12. A meteringgauge 74 controls the amount of gas inflated into the balloon. The message lies within the balloon as is illustrated in Fig. 12. l

The balloon is filled with a'sufiicient amount of gas to lift the balloon and payload but with in-' sufiicient'gas to fully distend the balloon as is clearly shown in Figs. 11, 13 and 15. The gas will expand to fill out Or distend the balloon'as it ascends and the atmospheric air pressure decreases.

The altitude at which the balloon will reach stability and discontinue its ascent which is also called the floating altitude is controlled by the amount of gas'placed within the balloon or the volume'of the balloon at maximum size. If sufficient gas is placed within the balloon to'fully expand it at its maximum altitude, thentheflying altitude will be determined by-its expanded size. Because of economy-of'use of materials, the balloons are usually filled with sufficient gas to expand to full size to obtain maximum altitude. Because its maximum size is clearly defined, the present invention is .preferablyused with a balloon formed of a non-extensible material. With a'knowledge of the prevailing winds and the dispersion pattern at a given altitude, the dispersion of the, balloons can be readily predicted by filling the balloon with the proper amount of gas to send it to the desired altitude.

When the balloon is sufiiciently filled to give it the desired. free lift but not to be completely distended, the opening is clamped by clamping member 16 and the edges of the. opening are sealed together in an appropriate manner such as by a suitable adhesive. Again, if the balloon material chosen is thermoplastic, the edges may be easily sealed by bringing the manual sealing member, shown in Fig. 14, against the opposed edges. The clamping of the balloon is not absolutely necessary for holding the gas in the balloon as, since the lifting gas is lighter-thanair, it will remain at the upper end of the balloon and, with the balloon in an upright position, the gas will not escape to atmosphere. To absolutely prevent escape of gas in the inflating operation the balloon material may be squeezed tightly around the inflating tube. It will be recognized that'with a very small load the message could be inserted through the; inflating hole. The balloon envelope could thenbe inflated and sealed in the described manner.- Also the step of inflating could be done first and the message inserted after inflation. For reasons including the convenience of storage and the protection which the load receives during storage, it is preferred to makethe balloon in the manner shown in the drawings.

The completed balloon 18 as is shown in Fig. 15 is manually restrained by a hand 80. When the which comprises joining andfusing the edges of the opposed layers at the end of a length of thermoplastic tubular material to form a sealing bead, pressing together the opposed layers of the length of tubular thermoplastic material at a point intermediate the ends of said length, passing a heated sealing member through the material to sever the material and join the severed edges with a sealing bead, the length of the material between said beads forming a sealed balloon envelope, cutting a length of a bead from one end of the envelope of suflicient length to form an opening for insertion of an object, joining the edges of the opposed layers of material formed by said cutting by application of a heated member, cutting a portion from the end of the balloon envelope sufiiciently large to permit insertion of an inflating tube, inserting the inflating tube and partially inflating the balloon with a lifting gas, and rescaling the balloon by joining the edges of theopposed layers formed by cutting the inflation opening. V

4. The method of making a small balloon which comprises cross sealing the ends of a section of tubular material to form a sealed balloon envelope, cutting an opening in said envelope, inflating the balloon with a lifting gas through said opening, and closing the opening to completely seal the balloon with the lifting gas inside.

5. The method of making a small balloon which comprises cross sealing the end of a length of thermoplastic material, simultaneously severing and cross sealing the length of material at a point spaced from said sealed end, cutting a section from the end of the balloon to form an opening, placing a lifting gas in the balloon through the opening, and sealing the interior of the balloon against atmosphere by closing said opening to form a sealed balloon.

6. The method of forming a balloon envelope which comprises forming a lateral seal across the end of a length of tubular material, by bringing the edges together and joining them in an edgeto-edge weld and transversely cutting the tubular material at a point spaced from said end while simultaneously joining together the severed edges of the end of material severed from said length in an edge-to-edge weld to form a sealed balloon envelope.

'7. The method of forming a load-carrying balloon for sustained flights of sufiicient size to support a payload and formed of a non-extensible material to limit the floating altitude, the method comprising forming a first transverse seal across a length of tubular material joining the layers and cutting transversely across the material at the seal, and forming a second seal across the tubular material separated from the first by the desired balloon dimension and cutting transversely across the material at the seal to form a sealed balloon envelope.

8. The method of forming a load-carrying balloon for sustained flights of sufficient size to support a payload and formed of a non-extensible material to limit the floating altitude, the method comprising cutting a length the desired length of a balloon from the end of a supply of tubular material the end of which is closed, seaming the edges of the cut length to form a balloon envelope, also seaming the edges of the newly cut end of the material supply, severing another length the desired length of a balloon from the new end of the material'f'supply, seaming the cut edges of the severed length to form a balloon envelope, and seaming theedges of; the new supply end to form the closed end for a succeeding balloon, and repeating the above steps throughout the length of material supply to form a plu rality of balloons.

9. A ba'lloon which comprises a balloon envelope of a non-extensible material and of a size adapted to lift the load when filled with a quantity of lifting gas not suflicient to completely distend the balloon, the envelope being initially completely sealed in a deflated condition with the ballooninterior devoid of all gas, the envelope adapted to being cut open for partial inflation with a lifting gas and to be again com pletely sealed for launching. I

10. A load-carrrying balloon comprising a balloon envelope of light weight thermoplastic material tubular in shape of a size to sustain the balloon and a payload in flight, the material being non-extensible to limit the floating altitude, a seal across one end comprising a weld across the tubular material, and a similar. weld acrossthe other end, the envelope'being completely sealed and devoid'of gas and adapted to being cut open for inflation with a lifting gas.

11. The method of sending a balloon aloft with a load and stopping its ascent at a definite altitude which comprises inserting a payload through an opening in a non-extensible balloon envelope so that said payload will be enclosed within the envelope, inflating the envelope of non-extensible material with suflicient gas to lift the weight of the load and balloon and terminating the inflation before the balloon is filled leaving the balloon envelope partially collapsed, completely sealing the balloon envelope preventing the gas from escaping to atmosphere as it expands when the balloon ascends, and launching the sealed partially collapsed balloon with the balloon filling out as the gas expands as it ascends, the non-extensible material preventing further expansion of the gas and further enlarging of the balloon volume when the balloon becomes filled out thus stopping the ascent and causing the balloon and load to float at the altitude determined by the fixed maximum volume of the non-extensible balloon envelope.

2. A load-carrying balloon comprising a balloon envelope of light weight thermoplastic material tubular in shape, the material being nonextensible to limit the floating altitude, a closure for the tubular material comprising a heat seal joining the edges completely across the tubular material, and a similar heat seal joining the edges completely across the other end of the tubular material, and a quantity of lifting gas within the balloon insufficient to completely distend the balloon at ground level and expanding with decreased air pressure as the balloon ascends.

13. A load-carrying balloon comprising a balloon envelope of light weight material tubular in shape and of a size to support a payload in flight, the material being non-extensible to limit the floating altitude, a closure for the tubular envelope comprising a seal joining the edges completely across the end, and a similar seal joining the edges completely across the other end, a load sealed within the balloon protected from the elements within the sealed balloon, and a quantity of lifting gas within the balloon not suflicient to completely distend the balloon at ground level to allow room for expansion of the gas within the sealed balloon as the balloon ascends.

14. The method of sending a balloon aloft and 

